Toy grease rack



March 20, 1934.

Filed June. 3, 1933 INVENTOR.

A. J. Kiddle "ma d ATTORNEYS.

Patented Mar. 20, 1934 UNITED STATES rArsNT @FFICE 5 Claims.

This invention relates to a toy grease rack which is operated pneumatically.

The object of the present invention is to devise a toyof this character which can be operated so as to have substantially the same movements and general appearance as the commercial form of automobile rack and in which pneumatic means may be employed for supplying the lifting force in a comparatively simple and yet eilicient manner. Another object is to devise such a toy which can be manufactured and sold at a popular price and which is not apt to get out of order.

Other objects will appear from the following description and claims when considered together with the accompanying drawing.

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of my device;

Fig. 2 is a view taken on line 22 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a detail view of the main including a fabric skirt for preventing the rubber inflatable body from adhering to the metal plunger.

Upon the base 1 there is mounted the cylindrical or cylinder-like body 2 within the upper end of which is the cooperating plunger member 3 of the same form as the cylinder so as to have raising and lowering movement therewithin.

In the present illustration, the plunger member 3 is closed at its lower end by the disk 4 which is secured thereto by the bolt 5, this bolt extending up through the plunger member. This same bolt 5 serves also to attach the rack member 6 to the upper end of the plunger member.

The rack member 6 is a form simulating somewhat the corresponding part of the commercial automobile rack, it being understood that any desirable form of rack member may be adopted and that this device may be employed for elevating a toy automobile or any other such device. In the present illustration, the rack member is designed with inclined track or wheel run-way portions which suggest the commercial manner of driving the automobile up onto the rack. Also, the rack member 6 is rotatable upon the plunger member 3 so as to permit such adjustable movement of the same in likeness to the commercial automobile rack.

For a reason which will later appear, the plunger 3 is permitted to have only straight-line movement within the cylinder 2. For this purpose, the screw 7 extends through the wall of the cylinder 2 and into the vertical slot 8 in the wall of the plunger.

Within the cylinder 2 and beneath the lower end of the plunger, I have provided the rubber balloon 9 which is adapted to be inflated for the purpose of raising the plunger and the rack member carried thereby. The nozzle of the balloon 9 extends out through an aperture in the wall of the cylinder and extends into the valve body 10 to the other end of which there is attached the rubber tube 11 of the rubber bulb 12. The valve body has mounted therein the valve 13 for opening or closing the nozzle of the balloon 9.

Assuming that the balloon 9 is in collapsed condition, which means that the rack is in lowered position, then upon properly setting the valve 13, compression of the bulb 12 will cause the air to enter past the valve 13, and by repeating such compression of the bulb 12, the balloon 9 can be inflated. That is, the air can be made to enter the balloon at a rate faster than it can escape out past the valve 13. Then by closing the valve 13 more tightly, the balloon 9 can be maintained in inflated condition. Or, by opening the valve 13, the balloon will collapse and the rack will descend by gravity.

The construction of this device is of metal except for the rubber of the balloon, bulb and tubular connection therebetween. As a means of preventing the upper side portion of the rubber balloon from adhering to the cylinder wall, I have provided the fabric skirt 14 which may be attached to the lower end of the plunger in any suitable manner. In the present illustration, this skirt of fabric is of a tubular form and is engaged at its upper end between the disk 4 and the lower end of the plunger 3, the main body of this skirt depending therefrom. With this means, the inflated balloon will engage the fabric and thus will not adhere to the wall of the cylinder which might otherwise result in the balloon becoming torn by the descending plunger.

Because of the rubber nature of the balloon 9, it is quite essential that it should not be twisted as such condition would seriously interfere with if not altogether prevent proper inflation of the same. It is with this in mind that I have provided the pin and slot connection between the cylinder and plunger so as to prevent any turning movement of the plunger within the cylinder, as above referred to.

It is to be understood that the cylinder and plunger might be of cylindrical form, in which event there will be employed the pin and slot connection just mentioned. However, the cylinder and plunger might be made of such cross-sectional form that the plunger can have only straight-line movement within the cylinder and without requiring the pin and slot means. It is with this in mind that I have adopted the generic phrase cylinder-like in some of the following claims so that the scope of the claims should not be considered as being limited to the particular form of device herein illustrated and described.

It is to be understood that the present disclosure is merely for purposes of illustration and that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention as set forth in the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a toy grease rack, the combination of a rack member adapted to support a toy automobile or the like, a plunger upon which said rack member is mounted, a cylinder within which said plunger is adapted to be raised and lowered, and inflatable means within said cylinder and adapt ed to engage the lower end of said plunger so as to raise the same.

2. In a toy grease rack, the combination of a rack member adapted to support a toy automobile or the like, a plunger upon which said rack member is mounted, a cylinder within which said plunger is adapted to be raised and lowered, rubber inflatable means within said cylinder and adapted to engage the lower end of said plunger so as to raise the same, and means for preventing the inflatable means from adhering to said cylinder.

3. In a toy grease rack, the combination of a rack member adapted to support a toy automobile or the like, a plunger upon which sa d rack member is mounted, a cylinder within which said plunger is adapted to be raised and lowered, in-

flatable means Within said cylinder and adapted to engage the lower end of said plunger so as to raise the same, and manually releasable means for maintaining said inflatable means in inflated condition.

4. In a toy grease rack, the combination of a rack member adapted to support a toy automobile or the like, a plunger upon which said rack member is mounted, a cylinder within which said plunger is adapted to be raised and lowered, flexible inflatable means within said cylinder and adapted to engage the lower end of said plunger so as to raise the same, and means for preventing any substantial turning movement of said plunger within said cylinder.

5. A toy grease rack comprising a base, a cylinder-like member mounted vertically upon said base, a plunger mounted within said member for raising and lowering movement therewithin, means for preventing any substantial turning movement of said plunger within said cylinderlike member, an elastic inflatable body located Within said cylinder-like member and adapted to engage the lower end of said plunger, a flexible fabric means depending from the lower end of the plunger so as to be engaged by said inflatable 100 body and thereby prevent said inflatable body from adhering to said cylinder, a rack member rotatably mounted upon the upper end of said plunger, a compressible bulb, a tubular connection between sa d bulb and inflatable body, and a 105 manually operatable valve in said tubular connection, whereby the plunger and rack member can be raised by compressing said bulb and can be maintained in such raised position or permitted to lower by gravity by operation of said valve. 110

ALFRED J. KIDDLE. 

